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Locked up in Surrey 2016

Mrs Belcher described their relationship as an "emotionally abusive" one, adding: "If you're questioning, 'Am I in an abusive relationship?', the chances are you are because there's a little voice inside of you that is saying, 'Help me, I need help'.

"Yes you can try and change your behaviour but if the other person doesn't recognise that what they're doing is abusive, why do they have any need to change? They're getting what they want."

Michael Belcher was jailed yesterday after attacking his wife

Speaking after the court hearing on Tuesday, optometrist Mrs Belcher said: "There was no 'sorry' after all that. There was not even the slightest, 'I am responsible for this'.

"I felt shock and disbelief [when Belcher came into their children's room with the knife]. It was almost surreal.

"I felt no way would he do anything in front of the children because I had moved into their room, just to get some peace. You feel betrayed that this person who you fell in love with wasn't ever really there.

"Because for someone who claims to love you to be so hurtful, no matter what the excuse was, it's such a great loss. Your whole belief system, your belief in a happy and healthy marriage, is ripped away from you.

"And then you realise that you were hanging onto hope that it would get better but without professional help there was no chance of it getting better. And now it's too late and that hope of it is gone.

'No resentment'

Mrs Belcher said her two daughters had "good" memories of their father, but now they also have "gruesome" ones.

She added: "On the surface they look fine but we won't know how deep their wounds are until they have to face life on their own."

However, she stressed while she never wanted Belcher back in her life, she harbours no anger, hate, or resentment towards him.

"To me, he's done this to himself," she said. "He's just shown the world his true colours. In a way, I'm like, 'thank you for showing me who you really are,' because I chose not to believe that that is who you are."

If you know someone who is experiencing domestic abuse, take action. You can do this by:

Calling Surrey Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Calling the 24-hour yourSanctuary helpline for information and advice on 01483 776822.